Relaunch Date Announcement

We Are Taking Bookings Again, with our first availability starting June 1, 2020!

Exciting news – Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer has amended the order for us to be closed, and we are looking to relaunch our flight training services! As there are numerous conditions regarding health and safety for us being in operation again, we are working hard to make sure we are able to open safely, and have the personal protective equipment in place to protect our customers and employees.

We have designated June 1, 2020 as our official relaunch date for both dual and solo flights. There will be some temporary changes to our operation which will include the following:

The most important measure starts with each of us – if anyone is feeling ill, has a fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, or shortness of breath, DO NOT come to the airport. If you have had close contact with anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19, or with anyone with the above symptoms – DO NOT come to the airport.

We are asking that students, renters and customers make an appointment to visit the flight school, and only arrive for their scheduled lesson time. We are discouraging drop-in visits or social visits at this time, until we can assess our policies and procedures to ensure we can meet our obligations as set out by Alberta Health.

Facemasks will be worn anywhere where we cannot social distance to the recommended 2 metres. This will require us to wear facemasks primarily in the aircraft – we do have a limited supply available, but we do encourage students to bring their own if they have them. The facemask does not have to be of any particular type – we will have disposable ones available, but washable, reusable cloth facemasks likely will be more comfortable.

Hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies will be provided, and we will encourage employees, renters and students to clean the high touch areas (control column, throttle quadrant, door handles etc.) before and after use. We are also encouraging everyone to practice good hand hygiene, and social distance when possible.

Due to the ongoing international border restrictions, all flights must remain in Canada, and we are recommending that students and renters remain in Alberta as long as the Chief Medical Officer is recommending non-inter-provincial travel.

Please have patience with us as we move forward – policies and procedures may need to be amended as we progress, and your input is important to us. Please let us know if you see any risks, hazards or any suggestions with our operation.

We are working hard to try to contact our current and prospective students to inform them of this decision. If we haven’t contacted you yet, we intend to, but please feel free to give us a call at (403) 329-4887 to resume or begin your training and schedule a flight lesson.

UPDATE

May 18, 2020

As we look towards relaunching our flight training services, hopefully in the near future, we are working hard to implement mandatory policies and procedures to keep both our staff and customers healthy and safe midst this COVID 19 pandemic.

Although we do not have a formal date on which we will resume our services at this time, we hope to be able to have all of our procedures in place to make the relaunch go as smoothly as possible. We are hoping to be able to announce a relaunch date in the very near future as the province begins to announce its relaunch plan.

We have updated our web page to include a COVID-19 Info Tab, where these procedures can be viewed. We ask that everyone please abide by our procedures, to minimize the risk of spread of this virus, and to minimize the risk of having to once again close due to an outbreak. We ask that all customers please visit this page, and familiarize yourself with the information on the screening form, as these questions will have to be answered in order to proceed with your flight lesson. As some of these procedures are fairly generic in nature, if you have specific questions regarding health and safety, please do not hesitate to ask.

We are asking that students please come solo for their flight lesson, in order for us to follow the proper social distancing requirements. We are also asking that students do not congregate at the airport, but please come for your lesson, and then leave afterwards. We cannot at this point have students remain at the school before or after lessons for studying or socializing. We are also asking that if you are experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19, including fever, coughing, sore throat, runny nose, difficulty breathing, or are taking care of/been in contact with someone with these symptoms or a positive COVID-19 diagnosis, we ask that you kindly reschedule your flight lessons after 14 days of no symptoms. We realize that this can be inconvenient, but please understand that this will be a condition of us being able to be operating again.

While in the aircraft, wearing a mask will be mandatory. PPE is in short supply at the moment – we will do our best to have PPE available for customers, but it would help if students were able to provide their own mask. We are anticipating having disposable masks available, but should be unable to acquire these, we may have to cancel bookings in the interest of health and safety. We ask that students wash their hands often and use hand sanitizer before and after each flight – gloves can be worn if you wish, but studies show that this does not prevent the spread of this virus or remove the need for good hand hygiene.

Any students with questions or concerns, please contact Excel Flight Training Incorporated, and we can discuss options going forward with regards to your program. In the coming weeks, we do hope to be in contact with each student directly, but please do not hesitate to contact us by phone or email in the meantime.

These are unprecedented times, and we thank you for continuing to support our business! We will also be updating our Facebook profile as more information becomes available, so check back often.

NOTICE

Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, by order of the Chief Medical Officer of Alberta Health and in the interest of Health and Safety of our employees and customers, we are suspending flight training operations for the time-being. Thank you for your patronage, and we look forward to continuing with your flight training when we can. We are committed to our role as a flight training provider, and will still be here when things get back to normal.

Any students with questions or concerns, please contact Excel Flight Training Incorporated, and we can discuss options going forward with regards to your program. In the coming weeks, we do hope to be in contact with each student directly, but please do not hesitate to contact us by phone or email in the meantime.

These are unprecedented times, and we hope everyone remains healthy and optimistic regarding the future. We will be updating our Facebook profile as more information becomes available, so check back often.

EXCEL FLIGHT TRAINING INCORPORATEDis celebrating its commitment to high quality flight training by providing a full time program of education and flight training at our Lethbridge Campus. Our staff is dedicated to providing the knowledge, flight skills and attitudes necessary in ensuring your success in training for one of the most exciting, but demanding career choices in the world.

Flight Training Education has changed dramatically in the last few years. Gone are the days that a few hours of instruction at the local flying club and hundreds of hours flying the bush up north was the path to a successful Commercial Pilot’s career. Today, the aviation community recognizes that a commitment to quality training in the beginning is important, as it creates the framework for the skills and attitudes that are so important to the success of a Commercial Pilot. Therefore, people interested in training for this career are taking their flight training education more seriously and are committing to full time studies.

We welcome the new generation of Commercial Pilot Students to our PROFESSIONAL PILOT PROGRAM. Their flight training success is important to us as is developing the skills and attitudes to excel in their first job . This is an integral part of our continued success within the aviation community.

On behalf of EXCEL FLIGHT TRAINING INCORPORATED, I welcome you to our flight school.